'Our players understand the importance of that engine. 'One of the things that is remarkable - this goes back to when we initially left ESPN - is the acceptance of ESPN among our players,' NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. The vast majority of NHL players are too young to remember when the League was last on ESPN, but they know how the network reports news, shows highlights and broadcasts events in other sports, and they know the audience and impact it can have. 'I don't know how that thing works, but whoever is controlling it, they're pretty talented. 'It's fast,' Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. On another rink, Turner flew a high-speed drone around the players as they skated, whirring behind them, over them, past them, to give viewers perspectives they will never have seen before in intros, promos and other content.

Hopefully it just brings more people to the game.' Somebody was telling me it took 26 hours to set it up. 'I'm excited to see the ESPN stuff,' Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said. On one rink at the Chicago Blackhawks' practice facility, ESPN erected a massive video screen to serve as a backdrop for certain shots. The Player Media Tour gave glimpses of what is to come, from the players' enthusiasm to play to the cameras, to the creative ways ESPN and Turner will use those cameras. The potential for growth is tremendous considering the broad reach of ESPN and Turner, the major investment each is making in the NHL, and the distinct approach each will bring to broadcasts and coverage of the League. media rights package that runs through 2027-28. The NHL will return to ESPN and join Turner Sports this season in the new U.S. 'I was just kind of surprised that he would know the music,' Buccigross said. Yet he not only knew the 'NHL on ESPN' theme song, he hummed along on camera. He debuted in the NHL in 2005-06, after the NHL left ESPN in 2004. Ovechkin grew up in Russia, not the United States.

'Do you like that?' ESPN host John Buccigross asked.

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